Parchment Ketubah – Arches, Flowers and Birds – Tétouan, Morocco, 1852 – The Bibas and Cazes Families

Parchment Ketubah – Arches, Flowers and Birds – Tétouan, Morocco, 1852 – The Bibas and Cazes Families

Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Yitzchak son of Yaakov Bibas, to the bride Dona daughter of David Cazes. Tétouan, Morocco, 3 Elul 1852.
Ink and paint on parchment.
Parchment ketubah, following the custom of the megorashim – Spanish exiles in Morocco. Designed and decorated according to the North African tradition, influenced by Islamic art. Poly-lobed horseshoe arch in the center of the ketubah (in Moorish architectural style), containing the text of the ketubah. Closely drawn vegetal patterns in green and red surround the arch, with a pair of large birds, two big flowers and two vases. The arch rests on two architectural pillars. Verses of blessings in the upper part of the leaf, inscribed in three stylized arches, separated by additional vegetal designs.
The text of the ketubah follows the customs of the megorashim (Spanish exiles in Morocco), as the ketubah concludes: "And everything according to the custom, conditions and regulations which were observed and instituted in the holy communities which were exiled from Castile, may G-d avenge them, have mercy and console their surviving remnants now and forever…". Witnesses' signatures at the foot of the text: Yitzchak Nahon and Avraham Anahory.
The Bibas family was a prominent rabbinic family in Tétouan, as indicated by the Yachas HaKetubah which lists the groom's ancestors nine generations back (see Hebrew description), up until the name of the founder of the dynasty, R. Chaim Bibas (the first), a Spanish exile in Fez. In 1530, R. Chaim Bibas was invited by the community of Tétouan to serve as their rabbi and dayan, and his descendants throughout the generations served as rabbis there.

49X37 cm. Overall good condition. Creases and stains.

Reference and exhibitions:
* Jewish Life in Morocco, edited by Aviva Müller-Lancet. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1983, p. 109 (Hebrew).
* La Ketubbah illustrée en Afrique du Nord, by Shalom Sabar, in: Studies in the History and Culture of North African Jewry, edited by Issachar Ben-Ami. Jerusalem, Communate Israelite Nord-Africaine, 1991, p. 196 (Hebrew).
* Better is the Sight of the Eyes: The Depiction of the Marriage Between God and Israel in Jewish Art and Illustrated Shavu’ot Ketubot, by Shalom Sabar, in: Ketubot and Tena’im for the Shavu’ot Holiday in Jewish Communities, by Meyer Nezri. Jerusalem, Mossad HaRav Kook, 2020, p. 644 (Hebrew).
* From the Remotest West, Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, 1989.
* The Sephardic Journey: 1492-1992, edited by Marc Engel, Shalom Sabar and Chaya Benjamin. New York, Yeshiva University Museum, 1992, p. 79.
* Sephardi Elements in North African Hebrew Manuscript Decoration, by Shalom Sabar, in: Jewish Art, vol. 18, 1992, pp. 168-191, (illustrated on page 186).
* Faces of Faith. Washington, Klutznick National Jewish Museum, 1994.
* Arts et Cultures du Maroc: Un jardin d'objets, by Marie-Rose Rabaté and André Goldenberg. Paris, 2004, p. 244.
* L’Art chez les Juifs du Maroc, by André Goldenberg. Paris, Somogy, 2014, p. 182.
Provenance:
* Christie's, New York, 9 October 1980, lot no. 54.
* The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.012.002.
The ketubah is documented on the NLI website and on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 48899.